60 Snake Traps Removed from California's Santa Monica Mountains

April 15, 2016

Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation officials have found and confiscated 60 snake traps in Decker Canyon in the Santa Monica Mountains. The poachers are after native California king snakes, rosy boa constrictors and even rattlesnakes which are then sold on the black market. The problem with these snakes though is it is illegal to collect them on national parkland and they are often full of parasites and have diseases.

national park service

These plywood boards often have holes or other catchment devices underneath to trap wild snakes.

The poachers have been caught on tape by surveillance cameras but they have not yet been apprehended. They often try and sell the snakes to local pet stores, like Exotic Life Fish and Reptiles in Chatsworth, Calif.